Are you being sarcastic, since #1 is one of the few things on that list that actually make sense, and the one thing the EPs have promised would happen?

What a terrible list. There are a few things that make sense, but some of the entries are mind-boggling. Going through the list one by one:

15. Secret Empire?! The comic book plot that's been widely hated and derided? AoS already did something like that, but in a way that made sense and worked much better, with the Framework/Agents of Hydra in season 4. Also, Hydra has been dead as a dodo in the real world since season 3.
14. Yes, another Peggy Carter flashback would be nice.
13. See 15. AoS already did something like that in season 4 with the Framework/Agents of Hydra arc.
12. Ultron? Why? AoS already had an android-developing-consciousness and turning against its creators as the main villain, with Aida in season 4. (And in many people's opinions, better than Age of Ultron.)
11. ...Meh.
10. It's very clear AoS will not be crossing over with the Netflix shows (except for that Easter egg in season 3, when we saw news titles on TV in the background about the ninja threat in Hell's Kitchen) - and the Hand would be an odd choice of villain after all the huge, world-ending threats they've faced in previous seasons. What works for Netflix shows would not work for AoS.
9. I'd love to have Mike back, but a bunch of Deathloks? AoS producers have been told by ABC to cut the budget for season 5.
8. That could work. Maria Hill would be a realistic addition to the show.
7. Did the author of the article watch season 3? The Secret Warriors existed for something like a few days, before Daisy was swayed and the team disbanded. There was absolutely no time for any secret missions.
6. Maybe. I can't comment since I don't know much about the upcoming Cloak and Dagger show yet.
5. Yes, Bobbi (and Hunter) returning would be nice, if they could find a way for the reason they had to leave not to be an issue anymore. But please no more characters looking to avenge their loved one's death plots. I've had more than enough of that in season 3. Definitely more than enough.
4. That's the dumbest idea on this list by far. Gosh, they really do introduce some stupid ideas to the comics. Doesn't mean they have to be embraced and adapted to the show.
3. That's one of the better ideas and something that has been discussed by fans since the finale aired, but they probably don't have the rights to SWORD.
2. There will be some sort of a tie-in to the Infinity War, that's a given. The question is just whether it will be something meaningful (as the tie-ins to Winter Soldier and Civil War), awkwardly shoehorned-in (Age of Ultron), unimportant (Thor: The Dark World so-called tie-in) or very vague and general (Dr Strange).
1. Something that really needs to happen (it's been a loose end since season 1), and the one thing that the producers have actually promised would happen.

Resolving the Agent Carter cliffhanger, bringing back Maria Hill or Bobbi Morse are the only things on that list that interest me and have some plausible chance of happening. Bobbi is only likely to come back if "The Orville" dies a quick death.

Exploring the origin of SHIELD would be interesting, but not if they're going to go with that predictable "origin in ancient times" mumbo jumbo. Why does everything have to be Dan Brown-ified in order to be interesting? We know the general story of SHIELD's origin, founded after World War II by Howard Stark, Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter. But the actual founding has always been off-screen. They could do a "two-fer," covering both the Agent Carter cliffhanger and the founding of SHIELD in the same story... but not clear how they'd work that into a present-day SHIELD story, especially with the team now in outer space.

I don't see any of those 15 things actually happening. A Maria Hill appearance would probably be the most likely.

(Oh, there will probably be an Infinity War tie-in, but as the past season showed, AoS is actually at its best when it's not enslaved by a movie tie-in.)

"1. Something that really needs to happen (it's been a loose end since season 1), and the one thing that the producers have actually promised would happen."

That is precise the reason I doubt it actually will happen. This show has changed so much Season 1, and many of the plot threads since then have seemingly been tossed aside-- never to be spoken of again. Hence, I would be surprised if they bring him back.

@libradude: Jed Whedon was talking about tying up that loose end an in interview some time this year.

Which were other plot threads that have been tossed aside? Graviton and Ian Quinn (who had the gravitonium the last time we saw him) are the only loose end from season 1 I can think of. They've also done their best to ignore the Real SHIELD plot post-season 2. It would also be nice to know what happened to Mike Peterson post season 2. What else is there?

Maria Hill back in the franchise (anywhere!) would be nice. She was best featured in Winter Soldier, so if her next appearance is in one of the films (over Agents Of SHIELD), that'd be fine. Just don't want them to have abandoned her character.

I want Season 5 to have a couple great pods to itself, then I want the third one to go all the way in its weaving in and out of whatever Infinity War is about. I want it to be as effective as the Winter Soldier tie-in in Season 1. Andrew's right that the show is usually better off doing its own thing, but they've shown that they can pull off effective crossovers (or at least, have the show feel like it was properly effected by a film) and it'd be nice for the series to feel like a part of the film franchise again.

Graviton, yes. Although after this many years of waiting, the likelihood of it being anticlimactic have increased. But yeah, just tick it off the list (he doesn't need to be the season's big bad). BtVS eventually got around to addressing Amy in rat form (though the best bit to result from that was the sight gag in "Something Blue"), AoS can do this.

Ultron if AIDA's arc had been built with him in mind, but since it wasn't, they probably shouldn't bother. He's old news. I want Red Skull back in the final one or two films, that's the Marvel villain who should come back (even if only to be unceremoniously killed for certain this time, after freaking Steve Rogers out for a sec).

I do want Mike back, but not with or against a whole team of Deathloks. No.

Agent Carter maybe. Eh...I dunno. I loved the show, but I was okay with only getting two short seasons. And I don't care what happened to Jack/who shot and probably killed him or that the bad SSR boss ("Red" from "That '70s Show") is more than likely still alive. Vernon Masters, that was his name, I think. More powerful would be a tie in solely to show the founding of SHIELD. Maybe coming in to the wrap-up of the series, whichever season that ends up being.

I couldn't care less about most things on this list. I'm watching AoS for the original characters. I've come to really love them, when I was very skeptical during season 1 & 2. All I want from season 5 is to dig even deeper into these characters, like they did in the second half of s4.

@Kris: I think it would only make sense to resolve the season 2 Agent Carter cliffhanger (which almost certainly has to do with Peggy's brother) in a continuation of Agent Carter it perhaps gets (even if it's in comic book form, Dollhouse-style). I agree that another Peggy Carter flashback on AoS should be about the creation of SHIELD, or something else that's closely tied to the SHIELD arc, as AC cliffhanger is extremely unlikely to be.

I heard Cobie Smulders say on a talk show that when her and her husband's current broadway runs are over, they're moving back to LA. I've had my fingers crossed ever since then that it would lead to Hill being back in a bigger capacity!

Seems like a list hardly worth putting together given how unlikely, or even desirable, almost all of the candidates are. It would be nice to find room for Agent Carter in a "pod" - given how they've embraced sci-fi and magic, I don't think time travel would be terribly out of place. Haven't seen much of Hayley since her series went quickly belly up - she's far too talented not to be utilized, and I'd imagine ABC would like to keep her in view (provided they had some sort of production/exclusive deal in place)

I read this list with skepticism after seeing Secret Empire and after that start wasn’t surprised at the amount of reaching the writer used for some of the ideas. imo, a good number of the points have already happened on the show already, so this makes me wonder how well-versed the writer was in AoS… Some of these ideas seem rather redundant to past plotlines.

@TallMichaelJ: As for Hayley Atwell-it seems from her instagram & Wikipedia that she’s working on something over in the UK called Howards End—they may have just wrapped. Whether or not we’ll see it in any capacity over in the US —scratch that, looks like we’ll get it on Starz if you’re in the US.

I'd like to see a few of the ideas come to fruition, mostly SWORD, but with corporate politics and rights to things, etc. etc., we'll obviously have to wait and see in terms of what the actual storyline is when the season debuts. I definitely went into the article excited for what CBR was going to suggest and was immediately let down.